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China's Military Boost Angers US

Beijing eyes space, cyberspace and Taiwan

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 4, 2008 12:00 PM CST
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(Newser) – The US and China are clashing over Beijing's increasing defense expenditures, its posture toward Taiwan and its threat to US space hardware, reports the BBC. Beijing officials say they plan to up defense spending by 18% to $59 billion—but a Pentagon report claims the true amount of Chinese military spending is at least twice that.

China responded pointedly to the Pentagon assessment, with officials calling it a "serious distortion" of facts. "China's limited military capability is solely for the purpose of safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not pose a threat to any other country," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The US should drop its Cold War mentality."

Chinese Navy officers stand on the deck of the missile destroyer Shenzhen in Zhanjiang, southeast China. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zha Chunming)
Chinese Navy officers stand on the deck of the missile destroyer Shenzhen in Zhanjiang, southeast China. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zha Chunming)   (Associated Press)
A Chinese paramilitary soldier takes part in a training session in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province, Tuesday, March 4, 2008. China said Tuesday that spending on its military this year will jump by 17.6 percent compared with 2007, the latest in a string of double-digit defense increases. (AP...
A Chinese paramilitary soldier takes part in a training session in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province, Tuesday, March 4, 2008. China said Tuesday that spending on its military this year will jump...   (Associated Press)
Pedestrians pass a billboard featuring images of the Chinese military on a Beijing sidewalk Wednesday Jan. 23, 2008. The slogan reads The Army and the People Unite Hearts Together to Form a Steel Great Wall. Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged the ruling Communist Party to step up its propaganda,...
Pedestrians pass a billboard featuring images of the Chinese military on a Beijing sidewalk Wednesday Jan. 23, 2008. The slogan reads "The Army and the People Unite Hearts Together to Form a Steel Great...   (Associated Press)
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China Power

China's military boost may stir fear
Wall Street Journal

China's military budget reported at $59 billion
Washington Post

 
China • Pentagon • Taiwan • Beijing • National People's Congress • satellite • computer network • military spending • cyberspace

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